Google iPhone data privacy case blocked by High Court

Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage captionAn attempt to tackle Google over data tracking has been blocked by the courts

The High Court has blocked a bid to sue Google for allegedly unlawfully taking data from 4.4 million UK iPhone users.

The legal case was mounted by a group called Google You Owe Us, led by former Which director Richard Lloyd.

It sought compensation for people whose handsets were tracked by Google for several months in 2011 and 2012.

Mr Lloyd said he was “disappointed” by the ruling and his group would appeal, but Google said it was “pleased” and thought the case was “without merit”.

The campaign was believed to be the first mass legal action of its kind in the UK.

Mr Justice Warby who oversaw the case explained that it was blocked because the claims that people suffered damage were not supported by the facts advanced by the campaign group.

Another reason for blocking it, he said, was the impossibility of reliably calculating the number of iPhone users affected by the alleged privacy breach.

Mr Lloyd said in a statement: “Today’s judgement is extremely disappointing and effectively leaves millions of people without any practical way to seek redress and compensation when their personal data has been misused.”

He added that he would seek permission to appeal against the verdict on behalf of the 20,000 people who signed up to the campaign.

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